Burkina Faso: Government

Key Figures

Chief of State:

President Roch Marc Kabore

Head of Government:

Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba

Overview

Government Name:

Burkina Faso

Constitution:

Adopted: 1991; Dictates fundamental rights and duties, defines the state and national sovereignty, delegates judicial power, discusses treaties and international agreements, and discusses the control of the constitutionality of laws.

Government Type:

Parliamentary Republic

Coat of Arms of Burkina Faso

Index of Economic Freedom

Grades each country on a scale of 0 to 100, based on ten freedoms, with 100 representing the greatest amount of economic autonomy from government intervention. Source:Heritage Foundation (2018)

Country Risk Rating

C

A very uncertain political and economic outlook and a business environment with many troublesome weaknesses can have a significant impact on corporate payment behavior. Corporate default probability is high. Source: Coface (2018)

Government Branches

The president appoints the prime minister, judges and cabinet, and is the commander-in-chief of armed forces. The prime minister advises the president on appointments and daily executory tasks.

The president is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system.

5 years

Judicial

The supreme court of appeals is the highest court of the land. The constitutional council is responsible for determining cases about the constitution.

The supreme court judge appointments are mostly controlled by the president of Burkina Faso. Constitutional council judges are appointed by the president of Burkina Faso upon the proposal of the minister of justice.

Supreme Court judges: no term limit; Constitutional Council judges: 9 year terms with one-third of the judges being renewed every 3 years

Legislative

The legislative branch approves appointed officials, responsible for policy making.

The senate has 39 members elected by regional governing councils, 21 indirectly elected by special interest groups, and 39 appointed by the president. The national assembly has 127 members elected through a closed-list proportional representation system.